Spacing appliance for punching or analogous machines.



PATENTED OCT. 13, 1903.

G. M. & R. M. HUNTER. SPAGI'NG APPLIANCE FOB. PUNGHING 0R ANALOGOUS MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15. 1903.

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:PATENTED 002:. 13, 1903. v .G. & R. M. HUNTER.

SPAGING APPLIANCES FOR PUNOHING 0R ANALOGOUS MACHINES.

- APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, i903.

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UNITED STATES csouen M. HUNTER anononnur M. HUNTER, or YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO. I

Patented October 13, 1903. 1

PATENT @FFICE.

SPACING APPLIANCE FOR PUNCHlNG 0R ANALOGOUS MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,039, dated October 13, 1903.

Application filed May 15, 1903. Serial No. 157,304. (No model.)

To this end the lnvention contemplates a simple and practical construction of spacing.

appliance applicable to any of the ordinary types of power punching-machines, as well as to other analogous classes of machinery designed for punching, drilling, or boring holes through metal or wood in predetermined relation, especially in the construction of structural work made up of a number of duplicate pieces.

It is well known that in punching iron or steel for engineering and building purposes it is necessary to produce a large number of pieces accurately punched in duplicate, so as to be readily fit ted together without handfinishing or other additional work, and also that frequently with such work it is necessary not only to provide ordinary lines of equallyspaced holes, but sometimes irregularly-occurring holes. It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a construction wherein positive and reliable means are provided for punching irregularly-occurring holes as well as regularly-spaced lines of holes during the passage of the work through the machine, so as to lessen the handling of the work, as well as insuring great accuracy in the location of such holes. In attaining this result the i'nventionhas in view means for arresting the work at the precise and predetermined point where it is necessary to provide a hole therein, and hence to provide means for a speedy, accurate, and variable punching of the Work being operatedupon.

Heretofore the expedients commonly employed for locating punch-holes for bars and other pieces of metal have been inaccurate,

each hole with a center-punch or other tool,

after which the bar or other work is passed to the punching-machine and punched as indicated by the prick-marks. This method is necessarily slow, besides being inaccurate,

inasmuch as the position of the metal under the punch must be determined solely by the eye ot the workman, whereas by the employment of the present invention after the proper spacing has been determined upon the metal bar or other piece of work is automatically arrested in the machine at the exact point where the hole is to be formed.

With these and many other objectsin view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described,illushated, and claimed. 7

The essential feature of the invention involved in the novel form of spacing appliance, including a plurality of interchangeable stop-sections constituting a spacer-rack, is necessarily susceptible to structural modification without departing from the scope of the invention; but a preferred embodiment of the latter is shownin the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a general elevation of the operative elements of a punching machine or apparatus and its appurtenances equipped with the spacing appliance embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the sectional spacer-rack in connection with the holder therefor and the self-acting detent cooperating therewith.

of Fig. 2, showing a type ofterminal fastener that may be employed for holding the individual stop-sections assembled within the holder or boxing therefor.

Like reference-numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The invention may be carried out with any approved type of punching or analogous machine for placing holes in wood or metal work at predetermined intervals; but as the same possesses special utility as an automatic and variable spacer for metal-punching machines this type of machine is shown in the drawings for illustrative purposes to exemplify the operation of the spacing appliance.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a metal-punching machine of any approved type embodying the usual anvil 2, the reciprocating punch 3, and the usual power mechanism for tripping the latter in and out of action. There is usually associated with the machine 1 a suitably-constructed work-table 4,projecting horizontally beyond the machine at one side thereof and having a plurality of suitably-spaced transverse horizontal supportingrollers 5, constituting the roller-rest for sustaining the metal bar, sheet, or other piece of work adapted to be fed forward through the machine in the interval between the punch and anvil thereof.

At the side of the machine opposite the Work-table 4 embodying the roller-rest there is arranged the horizontal track-table 6, suitably constructed and supported and including as a part thereof the oppositely-arranged track-rails 7, upon which ride thev travelerwheels 8, carried by the axles 9 of thefeedcarriage 10. This feed-carriage l0 essentially comprises a suitable truck or framework carrying the wheeled axles 9 and provided with any suitable means for propelling or moving by hand in both directions over the track 7-7--sneh, for instance, as a common pushbar 11, suitably secured thereto and projecting at one side of the track-table, so as to be conveniently grasped by a helper; but it is of course understood that the method of propelling or moving the carriage is not important to the present invention. In addition to suitable means for moving or propelling, the feed -carriage includes as a necessary element thereof a gripper or chuck 12 of any approved construction and usually disposed approximately in the horizontal plane of the press-anvil and the rest-surface of the work table 4, so as to be clamped upon one end of the work, whereby it may be drawn through the machine.

The present invention relates exclusively to instrumentalities cooperating with the punching-machine elements described to pro vide a spacing appliance whereby a positive automatic and variable spacing of the holes may be effected.

The invention in its simple form is illustrated in the drawings and includes in its organization separate members carried, respectively, by the track-table 6 and the feedcarriage 10 whereby the movement of said carriage maybe arrested with accuracy when a point to be punched becomes centered beneath the punching-machine. The member carried by the track-table consists of a stopholder 13 and a plurality of abutting interchangeable stop sections 14, supported and held in operative relation by the said holder and constituting what might be properly termed a sectional spacer-rack, with which cooperates a self-acting gravity-detent 15, carried by the feed-carriage 10.

The stop-holder 13 essentially consists of an open guide boxing or trough arranged longitudinally of the track or carriage table 6 and suitably fastened to one side thereof, so as to extend along said table a sufficient distance to accommodate the full play or travel of the carriage 10, whereby an automatic spacing and stopping action may be provided for at any and all points within the travel of the carriage.

The open guide-boxing 13 may be formed of a single-length casting or may be of sectional formation, with the ends properly fitted together to provide a continuous structure for the accommodation of any desired numberof-the stop-sections 14, and is so constructed as to provide for securely holding in proper assembled relation the entire series or group of stop-sections 14, while at the same time permitting of the ready removing and replacing of individual sections of any desired length, according to the regularity or irregularity of spacing which is to be provided for in the pnnching of the metal bar or other work. y

In the preferable and practical construction the horizontal longitudinally-extending guide-boxing 13 is of a hollow, formation throughout and closed at the bottom and sides, but is provided in thetop thereof with a longitudinal guiding-slot 16, running the full length thereof and within which travels the lower end of the self-acting gravity-detent 15. Below the plane of the longitudinal guiding-slot 16 and at the inner sides thereof the body of the boxing is provided with the longitudinal holding and guiding grooves 16, which slidably receive the side edges of the individual stop-sections 14,whereby said stopsections may be readily slid in and out of the boxing, while at the same time when in the boxing being firmly retained in place to subserve their functions of stops or abutments against which the detent 15 is arrested. I

Referring more particularly to the formation of the individual stop-sections 14, it is to be observed that the same are preferably in the form of rectangular plates presenting flat upper sides and provided at one end with squared edges 17, presenting a well-defined stop-shoulder or abutment against which the detent 15 is designed to strike and at the opposite end with a clearance-notch 18, which IIC . tion.

provides an opening through which the detent 15 falls and comes into position for arrest. by the stop or abutment 17, formed by the next succeeding section. It will therefore be seen that when all of the stop sections or plates are assembled within the holding and guiding grooves the same provide a sectional spacer-rack over which the lower end of the detent 15 plays, and the smooth upper faces or surfaces of the stop sections or plates 14 permit the said end of the detent to freely ride thereover until a clearance notch or hole 18 is reached.

The vindividual stop sections or plates 1% may obviously be of regular or irregular lengths, so as to provide any predetermined spaces between the stops 17 to determine the location of the hole to be punched in the metal, and it will be understoodthat in arranging for punching a particular piece of work the stop sections or plates 14 of the proper lengthare selected and inserted in proper abutting order within theholder or boxing 13, after which the entire series is fastened in. These stop-sections may be fastened in the holder or boxing in any suitable manner; but a simple construction is shown in the drawings and resides in forming the boxing 13 with a closed endwall'19, against which the first inserted section 14 abuts, and to secure the last one by a retaining-bolt 20, passing therethrough and also through a fastening-bar 21, arranged transversely of the boxing or holder 13, as plainly shown by Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings. It is also obvious that these sections may be secured by means of the ordinary set-screw, applied in any of the well-known and convenient methods.

With reference to the de'tent 15 this may be of any suitable construction and may conveniently consist of a-vertically-arranged bar having a squared-shank portion 15, passing through a correspondinglyshaped guideopening 2:2, provided in the laterally-extended carrying-arm 23, suitably projected from or carried by the feed-carriage.

The general action of the spacing appliance has already been indicated; but it may be further explained at this point that in operating the machine in conjunction with the appliance the bar or work is first placed upon the rollers of the work-table 4, with one end disposed next to the punch. The carriage is then brought down to the punch and the gripper or chuck 12 clamped upon the end of the work, after which the workman moves the carriage back. In this movement ofthe carriage when the detent 15 reaches the first notch or opening 18 in the spacer-rack the lower end of 1 said detent falls through the notch or opening and strikes against the stop end or abutment 17 of the first arresting-sec: This accurately positions the work for the punch-hole, which is accomplished by a workman tripping the punch-machine, after which the detent 15 is lifted up and the carriage moved farther back until the next stop section or plate is engaged, and so on until the operation is complete.

It is obvious that the sectional spacer-rack may be made in duplicates or triplicates placed side by side,'with a detent for each rack, if so desired, or the general character of Work operatedupon requires such. duplication or triplicat-ion of the spacing appliance; also, the stop-holder 13 may be attached to the track-table with the opening or slot 16' toward the table, in which case the detent 15 would would work horizontally and could be secured'to the carriage by any suitable and convenient method.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, action, and many advantages of the herein-described spacing appliance will be readily apparent Without further description, and it will also be understood that changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of theadvantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

l. Ina spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-carriage for the. work, of a fixed spacer-rack embodying a plurality of interchangeable stopsections, and a self-acting detent cooperating with said stop-sections.

2. In a spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-carriage for the work, of a fixed sectional spacerrack embodying a plurality of abutting interchangeable stop-sections each presenting a stop, and a detent adapted to be projected into the path of each stop.

3. In a spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-carriage for the work, of a spacer-rack consisting of a stop-holder and a plurality of inter- IIO changeable stop-sections mounted in the holder, and a self-acting 'detent carried by the carriage.

4. In a spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-carriage for the work, of a spacer-rack having a plurality of interchangeable stop-sections, and openings about the stop elements of said stop-sections, and a detent adapted to be projected singly into said openings.

5. In a spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-carriage for the work, of a sectional spacer-rack consisting of a plurality of abutting stop-sections, each having a stop and-a clearanceopening, and a detent adapted to be projected automatically and successively into said openings. I

6. In a spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-carriage for the work, of a sectional spacer-rack presenting at one end a stop or abutmentand at its opposite end a clearance opening or notch, and a self-acting detent cooperating with the openings and stops of said stop-sections.

7. In a spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-car riage for the Work, of a stationary stop-holder in the form of an open guide-boxing, a sectional spacer-rack carried by said boxing and consisting of a plurality of abutting interchangeable stop-sections, and a self-acting detent cooperating with said stop-sections.

8. In a spacing appliance of the class described, the combination with the feed-carriage for the work, of astationary stop-holder, a sectional spacer-rack carried by said holder and comprising a plurality of abutting interchangeable and replaceable stop-sections, and a self-actinggravity-detent having a slidable support on the carriage and having one end arranged to move through the boxing over the series of stop-sections therein, said detent being adapted to automatically engage the stopsections successively.

9. In a spacing appliance of the class deeach in the form of a flat plate slidably engaged in the grooves of the boxing and provided with a stop portion at one end, each of said stop-sections being further provided at its opposite end with a clearance opening or notch, a fastening device for the last-inserted stop section or plate, and a self-actinggravitydetent carried by the carriage and movable over the abutting series of stop-sections.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE M. HUNTER. ROBERT M. HUNTER.

Witnesses:

W. H. WOOLF, BEULAH NIXON. 

